Animal Kingdom’s 20th Anniversary Promises to Be Bigger and Better Than Ever

By: Amy Kawa

This year, Animal Kingdom will celebrate a very special anniversary – the big 2-0! To honor this amazing theme park milestone, Disney will celebrate with an extended “Party for the Planet,” from April 22-May 5.

The Disney Parks Blog announced some very special events in store for these two weeks at Disney’s Animal Kingdom:

Rafiki’s Planet Watch will take center stage for the celebration, which will offer backstage experiences that allow guests to learn about animal nutrition, visit the veterinary hospital, or hear how Disney promotes global wildlife conservation.

Guests can also commemorate their anniversary visit to the theme park with special photo opportunities, and kids can earn a limited-edition badge as part of the Wilderness Explorer program. Six different Tiffins Talks, themed dinners hosted by animal experts at Tiffins full-service restaurant will be available to guests who want to learn more about the animal residents at the park. And limited-edition merchandise will also be available for purchase, with one piece being a special-edition print created by renowned Walt Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde. (He will be available to sign prints on April 22 from 1-4 p.m. at Discovery Trading Company. Quantities are limited).

Other experiences coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom this spring include:

April 22 will mark the debut of a brand-new show, UP! A Great Bird Adventure featuring Russell and Dug from the Disney•Pixar animated comedy-adventure film “UP.” The show will give guests the chance to see Senior Wilderness Explorer Russell and his fuzzy friend Dug in a new adventure that includes encounters with exotic birds from around the world. This free-flying show will be performed multiple times daily.

A “dino-tastic” celebration with Donald and his friends will also premiere Memorial Day weekend in DinoLand, U.S.A. This dinosaur-themed party celebrates Donald Duck’s discovery that his bird ancestors were actually dinosaurs. DinoLand U.S.A. will feature colorful new décor and playful character greetings with rarely seen pals like Scrooge McDuck, Launchpad McQuack and more. A DJ-powered dance party will mix tunes from the truck-o-saurus stage, capping the nighttime festivities.

Memorial Day 2018 commemorates the one-year anniversary of Pandora – The World of Avatar. Here, travelers are transported to a mystical world of floating mountains, bioluminescent rainforests and breathtaking new experiences. Inspired by the blockbuster film, AVATAR, the epic land invites guests to explore a glowing landscape, encounter a larger-than-life Na’vi Shaman of Songs and soar on the back of a banshee.

Stay tuned to Dreams on Main Street for the latest from this “Party for the Planet,” as we’ll have some of the Dream Team there to cover the action!